12 Steps
Narcos: Mexico Season 3 begins with Amado flying his plane but running into serious problems. The engine blows, black smoke coughs out the back, and they crash-land in the middle of the desert.
Manny and Amado are loading up the cars to take them to El Paso when they notice a problem. Cars are zeroing in on their location, and as gunshots spray in both directions, Amado’s car tips. Drugs spew across the desert and Amado finds himself at the mercy of the military. Amado is put under military arrest but of course, that doesn’t stop the flow of drugs between El Paso and Tijuana. With the global economy changing and evolving, narration confirms that there are bigger changes afoot.
We follow Walt as he negotiates a deal with a major player in the trade, and as the negotiations progress we see how his skills as a negotiator are put to use. We also follow his interactions with other players in the trade, learning more about their motivations and how they think Walt can help them win deals.
Walt is planning to take out all the different players in this trade one by one, with no word from Amado. This seems to pique Walt’s interest, as he sees Amado released from prison. ..
In another part of town, a group of criminals break into a house and are met with gunfire. One of the criminals (Luis) is killed, but the criminals are able to escape before the police arrive. This is obviously less than ideal, but they rationalize it by thinking that it was just an occupational hazard for them to be running away from the police. ..
Victor is a crooked cop and takes bribes to pay his way. However, when his wife encourages him to see a local resident at her place, something about her story strikes a chord. Her daughter Teresa has gone missing and hands over some cash to sweeten the deal. Victor easily makes $150 a month through bribes; officers in Mexico commit crimes – they don’t solve them.
Victor heads to the morgue and remains intent on trying to find Teresa. He hands over the picture to the coroner and tells him to call if the girl shows up.
Rafael greets Amado warmly and business is great. Rafael’s partner is pretty naïve though and Amado knows this. Rafael reinforces that they need to stretch their operation thinly to avoid suspicion, and using the same route and towns to pedal drugs paints a bullseye on their backs.
Amado is out with Rafael, trying to take his mind off of his troubles. They meet El Profesor, Carlos Gonzalez. This man is a big player and he quickly rose the ranks of politics, serving as the puppet-master and guiding all the different presidents in the PRI. El Profesor offers Amado a job working for him, but Amado is hesitant at first. ..
The Hank Group is expanding into Juarez through a land purchase and Carlos also wants to buy out their land too. They are under pressure to come up with a price for it.
As Walt begins his meeting with Mike, he knows that this is going to be a tough one. He’s been briefed on the cartel’s operations and knows that they’re well-funded and well-organized. But he also knows that they’re dangerous and that they will not hesitate to kill if necessary.
Walt’s plan to drive a big rig south is foiled when he’s arrested by the police. He tells his friends at the DEA that he’s a agent and they have to help him out. This causes some problems for Walt as he has to prove his worth to them. Eventually, he is able to do so and is rewarded with a promotion.
Walt has a theory that if they wait until Amado is in El Paso, they can catch him with the help of the FBI. He’s confident that Amado will come looking for answers and as he crosses into El Paso, they’ll arrest him. With the FBI possibly jumping onboard too, it seems like things are on the up for our officers.
As the episode ends, Amado guns down Rafael for not telling him about his daughter’s illness, and meets up with Carlos. He hands over the deeds in person, free of charge… but not really. Amado wants to team up, and with Rafael out the picture, Amado’s knowledge of Juarez could be invaluable for El Profesor.
The Episode Review
The first episode of Narcos is a lot of fun, but it’s also very important. It sets up the game for the rest of the season and makes sure that we’re always on the edge of our seats.
That’s bad news for Walt, who has set up Operation Nissan to bust Amado on this El Paso/Juarez route. But yet, with the power of El Profesor by his side, it could well be Amado moves faster and overlooks this completely. We shall see.
The introduction of Victor and his gang is a good one, and the one-shot motion of him and his buddies breaking into a house to grab the money and coke is really well shot. In fact, the whole show has been beautifully shot, with some of the sunsets and vistas of Juarez and El Paso working well to help this one stand out. ..
Narcos: Mexico leaves things wide open for the rest of the season and it’ll be interesting to see what direction this one takes next.
